Cell-phone ban is not an easy call

March 05, 2010|Dan Hartzell | The Road Warrior

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Q: I read an interesting article recently on cell phones and driving. It cited a study concluding that using a cell phone while driving is not a major cause of auto accidents. I do not favor a cell-phone ban.

A: This is a timely topic, Lynn. Allentown City Council on Wednesday approved a ban on hand-held cell-phone use while driving.

When we last turned to this issue a year ago, a small, unscientific poll yielded 26 respondents in favor of a statewide ban on using hand-held phones behind the wheel. Many supporters agreed in spirit with the conclusion of Bethlehem resident Barbara Ziegler: ''It's a no-brainer.''

Only one motorist, Chet Ritchie of Telford, hit the brakes on the ban.

''Government too frequently makes laws because a few [people] do stupid things,'' he wrote, adding that the majority, who use their phones while driving carefully, should not be punished for the faults of the few.

I thought Ritchie was among a dwindling breed of motorists, a group that quickly would be passed by prevailing traffic (myself included) in favor of a cell ban.

Now I'm not so sure.

Later last year, the Pennsylvania Legislature rejected a hand-held cell ban (though a similar measure again is being considered). As Allentown's law progressed, more opposing traffic than I expected turned onto our opinion pages.

''I could understand banning texting or doing your makeup while driving, but no, it's a cell-phone ban,'' wrote city resident Mark Gadomski.

There was plenty of support for Councilman Michael Schlossberg's bill as well. Allen Township resident Bob Kern's only beef was that the $150 to $300 fine is too lenient: ''Start with $300, enforce it, and the problem goes away,'' he wrote.

Kim Montgomery of Easton and Bud Bowen of Allentown sounded their horns in opposition, and two common themes emerged: Government over-regulating our lives and the slippery-sloped roadway -- if they take our cell phones, what's next?

''Talking on the cell phone in a car seems quite natural by now. I suggest Pennsylvania make it a requirement for receiving a driver's license,'' wrote Bowen, taking a spin on Sarcasm Drive.

Allentown's law was prompted in part by the lobbying of Jacy Good, a Muhlenberg College graduate badly injured in a 2008 cell-related crash that killed her parents. PennDOT reports that hand-held cell phones contributed to 1,049 accidents that year, including eight fatalities. By contrast, only 50 crashes, none fatal, were blamed on hands-free phone use.

But the study you cite, Lynn, from the Highway Loss Data Institute, questions the effectiveness of banning hand-held cell use. The nonprofit agency backed by the insurance industry found no reduction in crash rates where bans are in place. The study compared crash rates overall, and not specifically accidents attributed to cell-phone use, a weakness the HLDI acknowledges. But the study (posted on the group's Web site) seems convincing nonetheless, though work continues as officials try to determine exactly what to make of it.

''It was surprising to our researchers,'' said spokesman Russ Rader, in part because previous studies by HLDI and others showed that hand-held phone use increases the risk of accidents by four-fold.

Even so, ''The message from the [recent] study is not 'Never mind, cell use is not that risky,''' Rader said, but rather, cell use could be just one form of a bigger safety threat: distracted driving in general.

Fiddling with the radio, reaching for your coffee (in its convenient cup-holder), turning to yell at the kids -- distractions of all kinds could threaten safety, Rader said.

While air bags and other upgrades have vastly improved vehicle safety (and there's more of that down the road), GPS screens and other gadgets lure drivers' attention away from the appointed task. Snatch the cell phone from a driver's hand, and the sunroof switch could take its place as a distraction.

Though I still support a ban, I must admit, the new study results, and the slippery-slope argument, ease my foot off the gas.

''So what's next?'' Montgomery asked in her letter. ''Head restraints to keep drivers from looking away [from the road]? Mouth guards to prevent eating, drinking or smoking? Handcuffs on the steering wheel to prevent the driver from changing CDs or lighting cigarettes? Soundproof back seats so the children won't distract us?''

She has a point, and it's a tough one to detour. Anyone for banning radios or CD or MP3 players in all cars? Not only can the ambient sounds drown out exterior noises such as wailing sirens, but again, fiddling with controls creates distraction. Does it differ much from dialing a phone?